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"Pulp Fiction," "Mary Poppins" added to National Film Registry

Left: Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins." Right: John Travolta and Uma Thurman in "Pulp Fiction." Both movies are among the 25 titles named by the Library of Congress to the National Film Registry.
Wat Disney/Miramax

Quentin Tarantino's obscenity-spewing killers and the prim
nanny Mary Poppins may have little in common, but the Library of Congress
announced today they are all to be preserved for future film audiences.

The Library has named 25 films to be added to the National
Film Registry, its collection of films deemed to be culturally, aesthetically
or historically important. One of the most eclectic of film lists, its aim is
to help protect our nation's fragile film heritage.

Also named: "The
Right Stuff," Philip Kaufman's tale of test pilots and the dawn of the
U.S. space program; "The Magnificent Seven," a rousing western that
was a remake of a Japanese samurai film (which was itself inspired by American
westerns); "The Quiet Man," a colorful romantic drama starring John
Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and the landscapes of Ireland; and "Forbidden
Planet," a spectacular example of 1950s sci-fi whose cast included
Robby the Robot.

The Registry is not limited to Hollywood entertainments;
documentaries, experimental films and cartoons, and student films are also on the list. Among the
new ones added today are "Roger & Me," Michael Moore's
tongue-in-cheek documentary about the effects of plant closures on the working
class families of Flint, Mich.; and "Cicero March," a cinema verite
looks at a civil rights march in a white suburb of Chicago in 1966.

Among the most historically significant films added:
"The Daughter of Dawn," a 1920 drama featuring a cast of Native
Americans shot on a wildlife refuge in Oklahoma; and a quartet of early dance
films featuring Martha Graham.

The Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, announced
today's annual selection, bringing the number of films in the Registry to 625.

"The National Film Registry stands among the finest
summations of more than a century of extraordinary American cinema," said
Billington. "This key component of American cultural history, however, is
endangered, so we must protect the nation's matchless film heritage and
cinematic creativity."

This is particularly urgent given the deterioration of film
stocks. The Library recently released a report that found 70 percent of silent films
have been lost forever. Even movies made as recently as the 1970s, such as
"Jaws," have required extensive restoration efforts to combat their fading
colors due to unstable film stocks.

The Library accepts nominations from the public for movies
to add to the Registry (visit www.loc.gov/film).
Selections are made after conferring with film curators at the Library of
Congress and with members of the National Film Preservation Board. The Library then
works with film studios, producers and archives to preserve and protect titles
on the Registry for future audiences.

Films Selected for
the 2013 National Film Registry (in alphabetical order):

"Bless Their Little Hearts" (1984) - Billy
Woodberry's UCLA thesis film is a poetic story of a working class African
American family's day-to-day struggle.

"Brandy in the Wilderness" (1969) - Stanton Kaye's
semi-fictional 16mm diary of life with his girlfriend is a blend of
autobiography narrative, fiction, and experimental editing techniques.

"Cicero March" (1966) - A cinema verite account of
a civil right march in an all-white Chicago suburb.

"Daughter of Dawn" (1920) – The first film shot in
Oklahoma, featuring 300 Native American cast members, was lost after a single
screening in Los Angeles and recently re-discovered.

"Decasia" (2002) - Bill Morrison's found-footage compendium,
with music by Bang on a Can composer Michael Gordon, blends decomposing images
from decades-old nitrate film that show the impermanence of images, and of
memory.

"The Hole" (1962) - John and Faith Hubley's
animated short - an Oscar winner - captures the fears of nuclear annihilation
in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

"Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961) - Spencer Tracy,
Maximilian Schell, Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster and Marlene Dietrich are
among the all-star cast of this piercing drama about the military tribunal
weighing civilian complicity in the Holocaust, directed by Stanley Kramer.

"King of Jazz" (1930) - Lavish set pieces, lively
music (including tunes by a young Bing Crosby) and comedy skits are on the roster
of this sparkling revue, shot in an early Technicolor process.

"The Lunch Date" (1989) - This Columbia University
student film won a Student Academy Award for its depiction of a chance
encounter between a woman and a homeless man in a train station.

"The Magnificent Seven" (1960) - Yul Brynner,
Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson are among the gunslingers hired to protect a
village from marauding bandits in this western remake of "The Seven
Samurai."

Martha Graham Early Dance film (1931-44) - A quartet of
films document the choreography of the 20th century's most
influential dancers.

"Mary Poppins" (1964) - Julie Andrews won an Oscar
for her performance as T.L. Travers' magical nanny in this winning mixture of live-action, animation, and music by the Sherman
Brothers.

"Men & Dust" (1940) - A documentary on the
respiratory effects experienced by miners in the Midwest.